San Francisco: Android phones in India will now get earthquake alerts. The new system, which uses sensors on the phone, has been developed in collaboration with NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) and NSC (National Seismology Centre). During an earthquake of magnitude above 4.5 on the Richter scale, the phone will alert you. Also, in earthquake-prone areas, you will receive a warning message on your phone in local languages.
Seismic waves can travel much faster over Internet signals than they can through Earth. Therefore, Google says that the alerts will reach the phones a few seconds before the strong shaking. Even if the phone is in silent mode, the phone will receive a loud voice and instructions for safety measures. An instruction on what to do for safety will also appear on the screen. This warning system can be enabled by turning on Earthquake Alerts from the Safety and Emergency option in Settings.
Google says the system works by turning the phone into a mini earthquake detector, using the accelerometer as a seismograph. If an earthquake-like shaking is identified for many phones at the same time, Google’s server will understand its extent and give a quick alert. Depending on the intensity of the earthquake, the alerts are divided into two types. The first is the ‘Be Aware Alert’ sent to users when MMI 3 & 4 tremors are felt during earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater. Another is the ‘Take Action Alert’, which is sent to users who experience an MMI 5+ shake of 4.5 or more.
